Lady Bulldogs break out the bats against Mats

By GERARDO RECINOS
Martinez Tribune

By now we know that there is a formula to Alhambra softball games, but twice this season that formula has been disrupted.

And twice it has come at the hands of Miramonte, who sits in fifth place in the Diablo Foothill Athletic League after their 19-3 loss to the Bulldogs on May 3.

The Mats join only Dublin as teams that have scored against Alhambra. On Tuesday afternoon, they took advantage of a less than sharp first inning from senior Sam Whitworth.

After a lead-off single by her opposite Aleah Pagan, Whitworth hit two hitters before giving up a booming double to Lucy Kassela.

Even after the bottom half of the first inning, Alhambra only scored a single run on a ground out, so for the first time this season in DFAL play the Bulldogs actually trailed after a full inning.

That faded quickly though, as Alhambra put together an explosive second inning by scoring nine times.

Lindsey Osmer laced a double into the gap after a 12-pitch by Miranda Nilson lead the inning off.

The Bulldogs scored in order on a single, pass ball, wild pitch, error, and sacrifice bunt.

Morgan Azevedo’s bunt notched the seventh run to score in the inning before an out had been recorded. Osmer followed with her third and fourth RBIs in the inning to add to her season-high six RBI game.

The Bulldogs continued scoring at a freakish pace. Whitworth settled down just enough to get out of the top of the third by inducing a double play and getting out of the inning with her second strikeout of the afternoon.

Before Briana Edwards entered the game in relief of Whitworth, the Bulldogs gave her some extra insurance to help her cause.

A pair of errors allowed the Bulldogs to score twice with the top of the order at the plate, and then Nilson followed with a double into the gap to continue the onslaught. The Bulldogs truly put the style on in the fourth inning.

Junior Karlee Sparacino led off the inning by lining the first pitch just inside the foul pole for her fourth home run of the season to tie her with Perez for the team lead.

Then senior Cara DiMercurio followed her up by taking a pitch over the left-field wall for a majestic home run, her third of the season.

Fans in the bleachers could audibly be heard saying “that’s what we came here to see!”

The Bulldogs have been seeing less pitchers willing to challenge them, Perez for example saw probably two pitches she could drive.

She lined one over the right-field fence but it sliced foul. The second time she just got under it and flew out to the warning track.

That would explain why she was walked three times.

But there were plenty of other players ready to pick up the slack to help drive in the 19 runs, something that separates Alhambra from the rest of their opponents.

About Gerardo Recinos

Gerardo Recinos is a journalist currently living in Concord, Calif. He is a recent graduate of San Francisco State University, with a degree in Journalism (History minor). Gerardo covers sports throughout Martinez and Pleasant Hill. It's his lifelong mission to get people in the U.S. to stop calling football "soccer," and to call American football "handegg."

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